STANDISH, Maine – The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) weekly honors have been released and Saint Joseph's College senior Wani Donato (Portland, Maine) has been selected as the GNAC Player of the Week for the second time this winter.
Donato filled the stat sheet to propel the Monks to a pair of conference wins last week, averaging 20.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.5 steals, and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting an efficient 69.2% (18-for-26) from the floor and 80.0% (4-for-5) at the line in victories over Lasell and Dean. The senior forward posted 20 points with seven rebounds, three assists, two steals, and three blocks in a tight win over the Lasers on Tuesday, then followed with 21 points, seven boards, three dimes, three steals, and a block in Saturday's road triumph at Dean.
On the season, Donato is averaging 15.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.1 steals, and 1.3 blocks while shooting 55.9% (138-247) from the field, 31.7% (13-41) from three-point range, and 55.6% (40-72) from the free-throw line in 21 games. He ranks among the conference leaders in field-goal percentage (4th), field goals made (4th), blocks (4th), steals (6th), assists (6th), total rebounds (154, 7th), rebounding average (8th), offensive rebounds (51, 8th), points (329, 11th), and scoring average (13th).
Donato, the 2025 GNAC Defensive Player of the Year, has developed into one of the most complete and efficient players in recent SJC men's basketball history. After coming off the bench as a freshman, he emerged as an everyday starter as a sophomore and has elevated his production each season—raising his scoring average from 4.9 PPG to 9.7, then 14.0, and up to a career-best 15.7 PPG this season.
Donato's growth has extended beyond scoring, climbing annually as a rebounder (3.3 RPG ? 5.5 ? 6.5 ? 7.3) and playmaker (0.9 APG ? 1.5 ? 3.2 ? 3.8), while consistently impacting games on both ends of the floor. Career-to-date, he has totaled 1,128 points, 581 rebounds, 239 assists, 112 steals, and 105 blocks while shooting 55.3% from the field—the eighth-best mark in program history—over 104 games.
Saint Joseph's (13-8, 8-0 GNAC) will play at Rivier University on Wednesday in a GNAC contest set to tip off at 5:00 PM.
